Mechanism for lowering boats



June 8 1926.

1,587,979 A. T. NELSON MECHANISM FOR LOWERING BOATS Original Filed April 1 1922' e Sheets-Sheet 1 TnvenZar June 8,1926. 1,587,979

v A. T. NELSON MECHANISM FOR LOWERING BOATS Original Filed April 922 e Sheets-Sheet 2 June 8 1926. 1,587,979

A. T. NELSON MECHANISM FOR LOWERING BOATS Original Fil April 1922 6 I .9:-

June 8 1926.

A. T. NELSON MECHANISM FOR LOWERING BOATS Original Filed April 1 922 6 s s t 4 June 8,1926. 1,587,979

A. T. NELSON MECHANISM FOR LOWERING BOATS Original Filed April 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 June 8 1926.

A T. NELSON MECHANISM FOR 'LOWERING BOATS Original Fi e pril 18, 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 list? Patented June 8, 1926.

1 NITED STATES z naus r T N ELSJON, OE i a 7' .MncnANIsM sen nownninq mg V Application fi led Ami is, ,isgaseriai m). 554.370; iiiieiveaiwtv iitsrig,1955.. f

, This inventionrelat'esto means lfor lowerboatstare stored onthe deck on tracks-{or ing life-boats fromships, and has for its ways whi'ch may extend both 'fore-andeaft 3 objects the provision. of mechanism of simandiathwartshipsp the said tracks or ways ple dorm and constructionwhich may be: leading tothe point o-rpointsvatiwhich rthe 4,5; speedily operated to lower the filled boats movable boat carrier issupported initsree flOFflflllO ships decks to the wateron an ceivi'ng position, so that the boats on the even keel and without danger of tipping or tracks may bemoved one after the other onto overturning,orofbeingiinjured or destroyed the boat carrier, and the latterinoved outby being thrown against the side of the vessel wardly to lowering position, and then down- 1-0 by the roll ofthesameor theaction oi' the wardly to lower the boats in .success'ionptog e ii ships side-and being movable also down lowering mechanism. 1';

waves;,-as frequently occurs when the boat is g, the water. I

suspendedby cables from clavits.- .In theaccompanying drawings: w 7 With these and other objects in view, my Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the boat lowers inventionoonsists of mechanism of'improved ing mechanism, with the boat carrier in re- 16 form and construction comprising a supceiving position. y 3 ,7 J0

porting device or carrier for the boats; I Fig. 2 is an end elevation ofthesame with adaptedto besupported on the deck in posiparts broken away to expose other parts to tion to receive'the boatstobe lowered, and view. e being movable. outwardly to overhang the Fig. 3 is a front elevation --,of the boat ward-ly-to .lowerthe boatsto the water. Fig.4: isa view similar to Fig.3, theiboat .Inx themore specific embodiment of the carrier havingbeen fmoved outr-vardly: to invention v the boat support or carrier: com v lowering position, andbeing shown partially prises aihorizontal' boat supporting struclowered. r

2.3 wipemovablein' vertical guides in a i-rame Fig. 5, is'a diagrammatic view;- showing orcarriage which latter is movable inwardparticularly how the boats are taken from lyland outwardly on the deck, the ,shipsside the lower decks, and alsohow the boat is i being provided with an upright guideway launched from the carrier. V with which'the guides on the carriage will Fig, 6 is a plan view-of the upper :deck

registerwhenthecarriageis moved outwardshowing how the boatsfto be lowered are 3 ly rwhereby the;boat' carrier may enter the stored thereon. uprightguideway and be lowered along the Fig. 7 is a similar view 0]": one of the shipsside to carry the boat to the water. lower decks showing how theboats maybe When the carrieri reaches the water. and is transferred therefrom-bathe boat carrier in sutiiciently submerged to disengage the boat, position at the lowerv deck. I the: lattenwill floataway from the same.- Fig. -'8 is a top plan, View of one of-theil'hefcarrier'is then movedupwardly infthe boat holding-cradles. g upright guideway, and the upward jmove- Fig. 9 is a side elevationofthe same. 7 mentcontinuingzit will enter theguides in Fig. 10 is an end elevation ,ofthe same.

4 the carriage and will leave the -,upright 'Fig. 11 is anelevationofone-oii the lockguideway whereupon the carriage and boat iilgv devices for holding the cradles in definite carrier areinoved inwardly on the deckto positions on-the supportingftrackr theiirformer position, with the carrierready ;Fi:g. 12 is a fragmentary view showing to: receive the next boat tobe lowered. 'the. Tforn1 of thecarrier wheels which are detail hereinafter, formovingthe carriage r verse track. V v and connected boat carrier outwardly and Fig. .13 is a'horizontal transverse sectional inwardly on the deck, and for moving the planyiew; ontheline 13l3 of Fig. boat carrier up and 'down in the gui'deway Referring to=the drawings;

v501' inthe ships side, which means may, he opilfidesignates a portion of a ship provided V controlled that the carrier'inay be arrested decks 3: 4 designates my-irnproved boat at'thedifierent decks to receive hoatsfrom lowering-mechanismzof which there may be the. same. i r 4 one-orzmore, according to'the size of the "As-a furtherifeature of my invention, the ship; the numberof-li-fe boats which are 'car- 9 erated-by poweror'by'ha-nd and maybe so with the usual upper deck 2 and {the lower Means are-provided, as will be describedin employedzon the cradlesstored on the trans 1 ried, and other conditions encountered in practice; The boat lowering mechanism, in the present instance comprises a carriage 5 supported on the deck and movable thereon from an inner to an outer position, a boat carrier 6 connected with the carriageto move outwardly and inwardly with it, and adapted to receive the boat to be lowered,- and an upright guideway 7 on-the side of'the ship to receive the boat carrier when it is moved outwardly by the carriage, so that the car rier can be moved down the guideway to lower the boat to the water. The movements of these parts are effected and controlled by operating mechanism which will be fully described later on; and in lowering a boat, the carriage in its inner location, positions the boat carrier so that a boat from the deck may be pushed endwise onto the carrier. The passengers then enter the boat, and the carriage is moved to its outer position, which will cause the carrier, with the loaded boat supported thereon, to overhang the side of the ship.- The boat carrier is then lowered down the guideway on the ships side and carries the loaded boat to the water, and when the carrier is sufliciently submerged, the buoyant effect of the water will float the boat and the latter can be pushed from the side of the ship and be thus launched. The carrier is then raised toits former position and becomes interlocked with the carriage, and the latter is finally moved back on the deck to its innerposition, with the carrier in position toreceive the next boat to be low ered.

The boats to be lowered are stored on the deck in cradles 8 which are provided with wheels 9 adapted to travel on tracks or ways on the deck. These tracks lead to the point or points on the deck where the boat lowering mechanism is located, and terminate in line with the boat carrier when the latter is in its inner receiving position, so that the cradles with the boats supported thereon may be moved from the track onto the car- "rier in succession, and be successively lowered to the water. 1

The carriage 5 ln'the present mstance consists of a horizontal table or platform 11 having rollers 12'mounted thereon which travel in parallel ways or guides 13, 13 on the deck and extending athwartships thereof, the said guides terminating at their outer ends at the outer edge of the deck. At the outer edge of the platform 11, are fixed two columns 14, having vertical guideways 15, by means of which the boatcarrier is interlocked with the carriage to move with it, and is permitted to be moved vertically relativel to'it.

The boat carrier 6 in the present instance comprisesa horizontal supporting vportion to support the cradles 8, and two standards 17,

extending ilipwardly from the inner side of the supporting portion and having rollers 18, 18 mounted thereon to travel in the guideways 15 in the carriage columns, the form and relation of the rollers and guidewvays 15 being such that the carrier will be the lower ends of the standards 17, on which arms are fixed track rails 19 which receivev the wheels of the cradles 8 and give support to the cradles. The supporting surfacesof these rails are slightly below the upper edges of the arms 16, the purpose of which willpresently appear. Rollers 20, are mounted on the arms 16 and travel on the deck, and

thus support the carrier in its movements outwardly and inwardly with the carriage.

The guideway 7 on the ships side is preferably formed by means of two rails 7, firmly fastened to the side of the ship and extending vertically parallel to each other, the said rails being recessed in their adjacent edges to form grooves 7 which receive and guide the rollers 18 on the standards of the boat carrier. These guiding grooves are openat their upper and'lower ends and at therinnersides, and they terminate at their upper ends in suchposition'that they will register with and form continuations of'the guideways 15 in the carriage columns, when the carriage is in its outer position with. the boat carrier overhanging the ships side. As a result of this arrangement and construction, when the boat carrier is in its outer lowering position, it will when moveddownwardly, disengage from the guides in the carriage and will enter the guidewayon the ships side and be guided thereby in lowering I the boat to the water;and when moved upwardly after the boat is floated, the carrier will again enter the carriage guides and be- In the particular form of the in- Means are provided for operating'the shaft 23 by hand in the event, for instance, that the power means are disabled. For this purpose a vertical shaft 26is suitably geared 'memvo tothe -shaft :23 and isgoperatedrbya hand crank 27 on a horizontal :shatt128 geared to the shaft :26, r

The boat carrier maybe moved up and down by any suitable means. In the present instance, an electric motor 29 is provided Which is sustained bythe carriage platform and geared by gears 30 and 31 toan operatmechanisms :36 are: applied to the shaft 32- to properly control the descent of the car rier. Means are-provided foroperating the hoisting drums by hand, which is effected through the medium of a horizontal shaft 37 inountedin :bearings in the carriage platform andprovided with suitable handcranks 38, the said shaft being geared to the shaft 32 by a train of gears 32 c .Reerring to Fig. '6 wh-i-h shows the plan of storage of the boats on the upper deck,it will be seen that in the present instance there I are prov-idedan outer'fore-and aft extending track 1-0 t'orsupporting an outer linev of boats,-;a-n inner track 10 ;-extending parallelw-ith the outer track to support an innerline of boats, and a cross track IQ to support additional boats." The outer track, is in .two

lowering mechanism, the said sections terminating at tlrelr'i-nnerends at polnts n line with the trackon the carrier when the latter is in its inner receivin position, sothat the cradlessupported on t ,tracksections can I he run onto the carrier from-both-sides of thesalne. The inner-track10 is likewise in two sections on either side of the boat lowering mechanism,the innerends of each seetionbeing curvedoutwardly as at 170, to join the, terminal ends of the outer sections, and thus guide the cradles on the inner track sections to theboat-carrier in its receiving position. [The crosstraek 10 leads-to the outerztrack, so that the cradles on'the-cross track may be transferred to-the outer track section and then run along the same onto the carrier track. It is understood that in the storage of the boats, they are supported by and rest on the cradles which "are in turn inoyablyzsustained bythetnaoksasdescribed.

The cradles t consist each of two parallel side bars, -8- which are connected at their ends by end plate 8' which are socketedto follow thetransverse curvature ofthe boat respectively at front and rear, that The when'therboatjis seated in the cradle, it will by reason of the swell 1 of. its sides ,bej preventedfroni shifting'either in. a fore-and-aft direction or;laterally. The wheels of those- "cradles which are stored'on the transverse track 10 are swiveled to the 'cradleas shown in vFig. 12so1that the wheels may turn on v the axis of the swivel and follow the chang- ,1

ing direction ot the track rails when the cradle is tranSferredfrom the cross track to the fore-and-aft track; Y I v The cradles. are releasably held at definite posit-ions on-Ithe deck tracks by means of locking dogs 39, see Fig; 11, which dogs are i carried by shafts 40 mounted in bearings on the deck at the points where the cradles are located. 'Eachshaft has 'fixed to itan operating lever ll by which the. dog may be I rocked so as ,toengage over a bar 42 fixed I to the underside of each cradle, and thereby hold the cradle in'its storing, position. When a boat is to be passed onto'the boat carrier for lowering, the handle 41 associated with the cradle on which the boat is fsupporte d, is rocked to the right in Fig. 11 thereby disengaging the connected dog from the. cross bar of the cradle and releasing the saine. v

The terminal 'iportionsiot the track sections 10 are sloped upwardly as shown -at43 in Fig.3, so as to stand-somewhatabove the horizontal arms 16 of the'hoat carrier frame; This-is tor the purpose of facilitatingthe passage of the cradles onto the carriertrack; in which operation the forward wheels of thecradle, after leavingthe end of the slop- 111g track, will drop down onto the carrier track, and as the cradlereaches its final position on the carrier, the rearwh'eels will also sections disposed on either sideof the boat,

ed from tip-ping or. turning laterally outward, .I provide a locking device of such form that the boat will be'automatically interlocked with the carrier'when' the cradle is pushed onto the carrier, and will be automatically released when the carrier reaches the water and is submerged sufliciently to float'the-boat. Thislocking device in the present instance consists of a plate M: fixed Y to a horizontal cross bar 45 connected at 7120 its ends to the standards of the boat carrier. then-upwardly in the form of a" lip 46. On the side of the boat a cooperating plate 4' 7 is fixed which is provided with adown- The plate extends outwardlyiand' wardly extending overhanging lipv48 The relation and size of theparts is such that when the cradle, with the boat'supported thereon, passes ontothe carrier track, the downwardlyextending lip on the vboat will pass behind the upwardly extending lip on the carrier, and the two will thus become interlocked against lateral displacement. When the carrier is lowered and is subnierged so as to fioat' the boat, these lips" willbecome disengaged by the relative vertical movements of the boat and car .ier, and the boat will be released.

The cradles are preferably formed of wood so that when the boat is floated the cradle will also float away and thus avoid the necessity of returning the cradle to the deck on the return of the carrier ior the next boat. If desired, however, means may be provided for locking the cradle on the carrier to prevent its loss'in the launching operation. ship is to be abandoned, the cradles would be permitted to float away in the launching operation, and would serve as a raft to enable any persons? in. the water to cling to them and keep afloat. Y

Ipropose in order to enable the passengers to readily enter the boat when the latter is supported on the boat carrier ready for lowering, to provide a flight of steps l9 see Figs. 2 and 3. These steps are supported by the carriage platform adjacent the outer edge of the same, with the upper step terminating at about the level of the gunwale of the boat.

In order that boats from the lower decks may be passed onto the boat carrier, I pro? pose to provide the lower decks with a track see Fig. 7 to give support, in a manner similar to the tracks on the upper deck, to the boat holding cradles. This track provided with a terminal portion in the form of track section 5lwhich is hinged as at 52 to the main portion of the track, to be swung outwardly and register with the carrier trackwhen the carrier is in position at the lower deck. In taking a boat from the lower deck, the carrieris lowered to the deck and there arrested as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5. lhe terminal section 51 of the lower deck track is then swung outwardlyto register with the track on the carrier as shown in F 7 and the cradle is run alon the outwardly positioned. track section and transferred to the carrier track. The downward movement of the carrier is then continued and the boat lowered "to the water. An indicator -A may be provided on the carriage and suitably geared to the boat carrier to show when the carrier arrives at the lower decks, so that the carrier may be arrested at the proper point to receive the boats from the lower decks.

In order to protect the rails '7" forming the upright guideway on the ships side, from injury, and in order to prevent the guiding grooves in the rails from becoming clogged with ice or other obstructions, I provide a temporary filler member between In lowering the boats where the mechanism is to be employed, will be re moved from the rails so as to free the guide way. In the present instance this filler member is in the form of a plate or board 0ft wood, with anouter sheathing of sheet iron. 7 The edges of the plate are formed with tongues to lit in the grooves in the rails, and the outer face of the plate extends flush with the outer faces of the rails as shown in Fig. 13. The plate is suspended in its operative position between the rails,

by means of a bridle 53 attached to the upper end of the plate and having connected with it a cable 54 leading to the deck and secured thereto by a releasable fastening device 55. W hen the boat lowering mechanism is to be used, the fastening device 55 is operated to release'the cable, and the weight of the plate will carry the same down in the guideway and itwill pass outwardly from the lower end or the same. In the event that it'is desired to prevent the loss of the plate, it may be drawn upwardly out of the guideway by means of a cable 56 attached to the cable 54" and leading up wardly and passed around a sheave 57 on a horizontal arm '58 projecting forwardly' from a crossbar connected to the upper ends ofthe carrier columns, and thence to the'deck where'it may be operated by means of a winch or otherwise.

In the'event that the ship is down by the head or stern and the storing tracks are correspondingly inclined,- the cradles, with the boats supported thereon, may be readily passed onto the boat carrier, I propose to provide'a cable or line 59 which is passed arounda snatch block or guide 6O on the deck in line with the storing track, and is adapted at its end to be hitched to the craJ dle. The said line is lead inwardly so-that it may be operated by a winch 61 or otherwise on the carriage platform, to "haul the cradle and supported boat up'the inclined track and onto the track of the boat carrier. As shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1'

the snatch block may be employed at either side of the boat lowering mechanism to haul the cradles from either of the track sections according tothe position of theship.

In the accompanying drawings I'have shown the ship equipped with'bnt one boat lowering mechanism. It will be understood however that a number of these mechanisms may be employed according to the numbero f boats to be handled; and further it will be understood that tracks for storing the boats on the upper deck may be arranged onjboth' sides thereof, and at both ends of these-me.

In the use of the device tor -launching a boat, for instance to rescue a man overboard, or for other purposes, where the boat would be returned to the carrier and again elevated to the deck, I propose to provide the carrier v nfth the path standards with cleats 62, a s shown in Figs.

3-and 5, to enable a line from the returning I boat to lie-fastened to the carrier and prop erly positioned so, that on the elevation of the carrier from its submerged'position, the

boat will be received by the same and raised with the carrier to thedeck."

The gear trains" 30 and 31 between the motor- 29 andoperatinglshatt as referred tohereinbefore, are arranged so as to drive. theshaftunder different gear ratios; and a' ear'shiftin device 31 is provided to shift the gear so astochange the ratios, A clutch mechanism 63', see Fig. 1, is provided'for the operating shaft 32 so as to connect ordisconnectthe windingl drums from the motor.

In the accompanying drawings and forc going descri tion I have illustrated my invention in'the par-ticiilar detailed form and construction Which- I prefer to adopt; It' will be manifest however that these details I may be variously changedand-modified by theskil-led mechanic Without departing from the spirit of the invention; and further it will be understood that the invention is not limited to any-particular form or construc-v tion of the parts except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claime Having: thus described my invention, what 1; In combination with a ship having means on its deck to guide a li-te boat in a definite path, a boat lowering-mechanism comprising a boat carrier supported by the deck normally in an inner position in line of movement of the life boat toir'eceive about from said path,sai d1.carrier being movable out-wardlyito. a lowering position, anda; guid'eway onthe shlps side m position to receiveqthe ,carrie'r in its outer' and down which guideway the carposition, I rier is movably guided to lower the boat.

2. In combination with a ship having means 'on'its deck toguide a boat supporting cradle in a definite path, a boat lowering mechanism comprising a boat carrier supported by the deck normally in an inner position in line with the path of movement of the cradle to receive the cradle from said path,'said' carrier being movable outwardly to a lowering position, and a guideway on the ships side in position to receive the with the path of movement ofthe,

to receive the carrier inits outer position,

anddown which the carrier i' covably' guided tolow'er theboat g 4, In combination with a ship, about lowering mechanism ompnsinga carriage movable outward-lyand inward-ly on; the

ships deck, a boat, carrieradapted": to" re-t ce'ive the boat to be lowered and slidinglyinterlocked with the carriage -to 1nove"rel'a-= tively to th-e s'aine up and-down, a'guidew'ay' on the. side of the ship in position to-reeei've the boat Carrie-rates the carriage is moved cowardly, and means for moving'the carrier up and down in said guideway'.

' 5; In combination'withashipfa boatlowi ering mechanism comprising a carriagemov able horizontally onthe ships" deck outwardly andinwardly-and provided-with upright guides, a boat carriermountedifor" movement in said gm-ides, an upright guide way on the side of the 'ship in position to register with the" guides ofjthe carri'age when the latter 1 is nicvedoutwardlyand to; rece ve the carrier, means for movingthe carriage outwardly-and inwardly, and means for I'novin'g"the carrier up and down,

In combination Livitha ship having a I deck provided with horizontal guides, a car riage movable on said guide-sfoutwardly and inwardly, means for moving-said carriage, upright g'ui'des onthe' carriage, an u right gindeway on the side of the ship-.111 position to iegister'with the carriage guides whenv the carriage is moved 'ontwardly,a boat car'- 'rier inova 'le in the guides on; thecarria-gei and in the guideway on the side'of the'ship,

and means for man-rig the carrier in said In combinatlon with a ship, a (marriage 7 movable outwardly andj inwardly, on the deck of the same-,a b'oat 'earrier detachably interlocked with the carriage to move out- 'wardly and inwardly therewith movable vertically relatively.- thereto to disengage the" carriage, an upright guideway on the side of the ship in position to receive the carrier when disengaged from the, carriage, and means for moving the carrier in said guide- 8. In combination with a ship having a deck, a track on said deck to movably sustain the boat'to be lowered, a'boat carrier supported on the deck in position to receive the boat directly from said track, said carrier being movable outwardlyafrom its reits ceiving position to a lowering position, an r upri ht guideway extending along the side of the ship in position to receive the carrier when the latter is moved outwardly, means for moving the carrier outwardly, and means for moving the sameup and down on said guideway.

9. In combination with a ship having a deck, a track on said deck, a cradle movable. on the track and adapted to receive the boat r to be lowered, a boat carrier supported on thedeck and provided with a track in positionto receive the cradle from the first mentioned track, said carrier being movable outwardly from its recelvlng position to a lowering position, an upright guideway eXtending along the'side of the ship in position to receive the carrier when moved outwardly, means for'moving the. carrier outwardly, and means for moving the carrier on said guideway. e i I 10. In combination with a ship provided with upper and lower decks, a boatcarrier adapted to receive a boat from the upper deck and movable down the ships side to the water, means for moving said carrier and arresting the same with a predetermined definite position at the lower deck, and a track on the lower deck to movably support the boat to be lowered therefrom, said track being provided with a terminal portion adapted to lead tothe carrier when positioned at said predetermined definite position at the lower deck. 7

11. In combination with a ship provided with upper and lower decks, a boat carrier adapted to receive a boat from the upper deck and movable down the ships sideto the water, means for moving said carrier downwardly and arresting the same at the lowerdeck, a track on. the lower deck to movably support the boat to be lowered therefrom, and a terminal switch on said track adapted to be swung outwardly to guide the boat to the carrier tionedat the lower deck.

12,111 a boat lowering mechanism, the

.combination of a boat carrier adapted to receive the boatto be lowered and movable down the ships side to lower the boat to the water, and an interlocking connection between the inner side of the boat and the carrier to restrain the boat from tipping laterally, said connection being formed'tobe autowhen posimatically disengaged to release the boat by a relative vertical movement of the carrier and boat when the latter reaches the water.

13. In a boat lowering mechanism, the combination of a boat carrier adapted to re} ceive the boat in an endwise direction and movable down the ships side to lowerthe. boat to the water, an upwardly extending lip on the carrier, and a downwardly extend ing' lip on the side of the boat, adapted when the boat is'moved endwise'onto the. carrier,

to pass behind the upwardly extending lip. 14. In combination with ,a ship, upright guide rails on the side of the ship to receive ,7

and guide a movable boat lowering carrier, and a filler member seatedbetween the rails to fill out the space between themland being removable therefrom at will. I

15. In combination with a ship, upright guide rails on the side of the same to receive and guide a movable boat lowering carrier, a filler member seated between the rails to fill out the space between them, said.

member being removable from between the guides at will, and a suspension cable attached to saidmember and leading to the deck.

ship and movable also downwardly to lower the boat to the water, a cable guide on the deck in linewith thetrack, a cable passing over said guide and adapted to-be connected with the cradle on the track to haul it onto:

16. In combination with a ship having the boat carrier, and a winch on the :deck to g which the cable is connected.

In testimony whereof, I-have atfixeol my signature hereto. l

AUGUST Transom 

